Review: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #97

With
all-ages comic books, the bar is set pretty low, and this issue of Scooby-Doo
lives up to that bar (barely). It starts with “The Gang’s All Here,” as a trio
of ghostly bank robbers from the gangster era attempt to rob Mystery Inc.’s
bank. But they quickly give themselves away as frauds, and the gang is able to
easily trap them.

There’s a
four-page interlude in which a displaced ghost tries to haunt the Mystery
Machine. It’s a playful, juvenile story, suggesting it might be the winning
entry in a kids’ contest. Some of the writing is awkward, and not what I would
expect from a more seasoned writer.

The third
entry is entitled, “UFO-No,” as the gang crashes a concert to solve the mystery
of a jewel theft. It’s a cliché-ridden entry only a pre-teen could relate to,
and some of the character designs seem a bit off-model. But I don’t mind that.
I think the Scooby gang could use a bit of an update.

Three simple
entries, all in color for slightly more than a dime. But while the rest of DC
is focused on the upcoming 1,000th issue of Detective Comics, leaves us not ignore Scooby-Doo, which is a few issues away from hitting the 100 mark.
And is celebrating his 50th anniversary as well.